Pros And Cons Of The Drinking Age

Another one. A lone phone call in the early hours of the morning. An unsuspecting mother 's life of about to change and possibly collapse at the news she is about to receive. The woman at the other end apologizes before she says another word. "I 'm so sorry. Your son Jeremy was in a car accident. He is located at the local hospital and you should come soon." Frantic with questions, the mother whips on a robe and shakes her husband awake. The two of them rushed to the hospital ignoring the speed limit signs flashing past the windows. Upon arrival they find their son lying in a hospital bed mangled, bruised, and hooked to a tangle of tubes. Jeremy had been drinking with his other teenage friends and they had gotten into a car while …show more content…
Back in the mid twentieth century the legal drinking age in some states was 18 to match the age requirements for joining the military and voting. During those years several studies listed by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine the amount of fatal alcohol car crashes increased drastically. As a result of increased crashes, something needed to be done to decrease the number of young deaths.
MADD, short for Mothers Against Drunk Driving states that President Reagan passed a Uniform Drinking Age Act in 1984 that gave states a five year deadline to change their legal drinking age to 21. Passing such a law was effective because it saved lives. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 927 lives were saved in 2004 alone as a result of the higher minimum drinking age. Teenagers can be adventurous and daring which sometimes put them into situations where peer pressure and the excitement of trying new things overshadows common sense and safety. Alcohol is often an excitement among teens because it makes them feel different and can lead to a